Continuity Errors
Home And Away is one of the longest serving Australian TV serials and is the second longers running drama serial in Australia after its Melbourne based arch rival Neighbours. As of December 2017, H&A has clocked up 6800 episodes since January 1988. Over those 30 years and with that many episodes, the show will have a number of continuity errors. With a long running drama serial there will always be confusion over characters ages and birthdays, and also backhistory. This is due to different writers or even deliberate to suit new plots. Also in such shows, there is errors such as bad editing, a bowl full of cornflakes, then half empty, then full again in the next shot. Home And Away has never had an archivist, a series historian who reminds scriptwriters of backhistory and birthdays and there has been a few hundred scriptwriters over the shows 30 years history so often the writers just go on memory or make up their own backhistory which can contradict other writers versions of the history. Although the writers of the show do not rewrite history as much as Neighbours does. They tend to be more accurate when referring to past storylines and backhistories. UK soaps Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders also take this approach, usually. Here is a list of continuity errors and I have even tried to make sense of a few, ie, two sides to very story. Enjoy, as Irene would say. Continuity errors *In January 1988, Celia Stewart said that Roo was her only niece as Roo was Celia's brother Alf's daughter. The true paternity of Bobby was not yet known. Yet in 1989, Celia and Alf's sister Barbara had a teenage daughter Rebecca. *In March 1988, Donald Fisher said he had been teaching for 25 years. So he must have started teaching in about 1963, thus meaning he got his degree in about 1962, when he must have been at least 21 years old. Yet in February 1995, Don has his 50th birthday. Surely he would not have got his degree and started teaching at just 18? *In Episode 59 (7 April 1988), Alf Stewart says he is 45 years old, meaning he was born between April 1942 and April 1943. In a 1993 episode, when Shane Parrish was looking through police records for his work experience, Alf's DOB on his drink driving record was said to be 16 January 1943. This ties in with his 1988 age, but in Ep 4000 (8 Jul 2005), he has his 60th birthday. This means he was born on 8th July 1945, making him only 42 in April 1988. In 1988 he said he graduated from high school in 1958 later revising it to 1963. To add to the confusion, in 1995, Alf was said to be 47 so born c1947/1948. *In 1988 Ailsa Stewart said she went to prison aged 18 and served 3 years. If you go by her 50th birthday in 2000, she was born in 1950. She would've gone to prison in 1968 or 1969. Yet in 2000 she says she was raped while in prison and she said "That was 20 years ago". If she only did 3 years she would have been released in about 1972/1973. The worlds longest 3 and a half years lol. *Tom Fletcher and Pippa Fletcher's year of marriage varies between 1969, 1973 and 1975. *Tom Fletcher's date of birth and middle name are inconsistent too. He was understood to have been born Thomas Edward Fletcher on 17th January 1948. If his headstone which features in Episodes 701 and 724 is to be believed, he was born on 6th March 1947 and his middle name was Robert. Perhaps Pippa, Sally et. al have been visiting the wrong grave all this time! In 1988, Tom said when Marilyn Monre was 35, he was 12, and he fancied her. Monroe was born in June 1926 so was 35 by June 1961, giving Tom a June 1948-mid 1949 birthdate, again contradicting his 40th birthday in January 1988, and his gravestone saying March 6th, 1947. *Sally Fletcher's birthday was originally July 1979 but she later celebrated a birthday in February. *Colleen Smart said she was a Capricorn in 1988 but in 2002 she had a birthday in May. She did act like she was royalty so maybe she had 2 birthdays. *Alf Stewart's dad Gordon Stewart was still alive in 1988 and this was mentioned a few times that year, but in 2003 he was said to have died 16 years ago, putting a 1987 year of death for Gordon. *Donald Fisher said he was an only child in 2001, despite his brother Clive Fisher being mentioned in 1988 and his sister Mary Croft appearing in 1992 and 1993. (Although Clive and Mary may have been step siblings) *In 1989, Ailsa said Duncan Stewart was her first child, she was amazed she was a first time mother at almost 40 but in 1999, a long lost daughter Shauna Bradley, born about 1979, turned up. (Maybe Ailsa was lying about the fact she had a baby before, and due to the circumstances, did not want her dirty linen aired in public so left it at that). *Pippa and Michael Ross got married in Episode 757 (30th April 1991). When their marriage ran into difficulties, their foster kids organised a wedding anniversary party for them. This was in Episode 1585 (28th October 1994) Category:Home And Away.